A high school student and theater lover explains why he has chosen to work behind the curtain in the stage crew rather than act on stage, and offers advice for other kids and teens who want to get involved with student or community theater.

Is your child trying out for a school play or community theater show? Get tips from casting directors on how to help your kid ace the audition, including how to prepare the right song and monologue, calm nerves and stage fright, and deal with disappointment if your child doesn't get the role.

For kids who want to audition for professional acting roles on Broadway or even in TV or film, we've got the best advice from pro casting directors on how to stand out from the crowd and make the most of each audition and callback.

Are you looking for a talent agent or manager for your budding child actor? Here are five tried-and-true ways to find representation courtesy of Jessica Rofe, an artistic director who has worked in casting and on the talent agency side of the business for many years.

M.A.T.S.S. Kids' Gym now offers music and theater classes for children in Syosset. The music classes are offered by Long Island Aardvarks and the theater classes are offered by New Artist Theater, a division of The AMF Studio.

The Performing Arts Conservatory of New York, which was originally located in Jackson Heights, recently opened its second location in Elmhurst. The Performing Arts Conservatory of New York offers after-school classes to children in Queens, including drama, music, and dance. The conservatory also offers introduction to music classes for preschoolers, as well as Spanish classes.

New York Kids Club, a children's activity center, recently opened its Park Slope location. The center offers various kids classes including theater, dance, gymnastics, and cooking, as well as birthday parties and after-school pick-ups.

UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2014: Prepare for back to school time in Brooklyn, New York, with a wide range of after-school programs for kids, Brooklyn sports teams and programs for kids, after-school tutors in Brooklyn, music classes, dance and gymnastics classes in Brooklyn, from Carroll Gardens, to Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights to Park Slope.

UPDATED JULY 2014: Looking for music and theater studios on Long Island where your kids can take music classes and theater classes? Here you'll find a list of local music and theater studios in Nassau County including New Hyde Park, Great Neck, Port Washington, Roslyn, Syosset and Bellmore, and Suffolk County, including Farmingdale, Oyster Bay, and Stony Brook. These music and theater studios for kids on Long Island offer guitar classes, theater programs, and singing lessons.

UPDATED JULY 2014: New York City has a lot of options when it comes to music and theater programs for kids. Here's a list of music and theater studios that offer classes for kids in Manhattan in neighborhoods like the Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Greenwich Village, Midtown, Chelsea, Tribeca, Financial District, and Murray Hill.

UPDATED JULY 2014: A list of studios in Fairfield, Connecticut where kids can take music lessons and classes locally. Including music studios for kids in Riverside, Westport, Fairfield, and Wilton, this list includes places where kids can hone musical skills.

UPDATED JULY 2014: This list of local music classes and programs for kids in Westchester County includes studios in Yonkers, Mamaroneck, Eastchester, Scarsdale, White Plains, and Larchmont. Here you'll find studios for kids to learn musical instruments including guitar, piano, and drums and music programs for kids of all ages.

UPDATED JULY 2014: If you're a New York parent looking for music classes or theater programs for your kids in Brooklyn, this list is exactly what you need. This list includes studios that offer lessons to kids in Bay Ridge, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Williamsburg, and Coney Island. Whether your child wants guitar lessons or singing classes, these Brooklyn studios are where you want to go.

Bennett Academy, a performing arts school in New Rochelle, now offers online music classes via Skype, in addition to its music, theater, and film classes at the Westchester County location. It’s students now also star in an online talk show for kids—The Odella Williams Show.

UPDATED JULY 2014: Enroll your child in theater classes in Queens, NY. There are tons of performing arts venues in Queens that provide creative opportunities for kids. Give your kids acting classes and find the best local theater programs in Queens, NY including Forest Hills, Bayside, Jamaica, and Jackson Heights.

UPDATED JULY 2014: New York City is filled with places to take music lessons and classes, but this list is for Queens families looking for local music teachers and studios where kids can learn to sing and play musical instruments with piano lessons, guitar lessons, and more. You'll find music classes and programs for kids offered in Queens including Rego Park, Forest Hills, Astoria, Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Douglaston, Long Island City, and Jackson Heights.

UPDATED JULY 2014: Enroll your child in theater classes in Rockland County. There are tons of performing arts venues in Rockland County that provide creative opportunities for kids. Give your budding Shakespeare theater classes and find the best local theater programs in Rockland County.

UPDATED JULY 2014: Looking for local music classes and programs for kids in Rockland County, NY? Here you'll find a list of programs that offer guitar lessons, clarinet lessons, piano lessons, and how to play the drums, Rockland County. The programs are located in Rockland County, NY, including neighborhoods such as Spring Valley, West Nyack, Nanuet, Suffern, New City, and Upper Saddle River.

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NYMetroParents is the parenting division of Davler Media Group and encompasses 9 regional print magazines within the greater NY metro region as well as the website (nymetroparents.com). Following the success of the first NYC parenting resource book, "Big Apple Baby," BIG APPLE PARENT was launched in 1985; it is now the largest publisher of regional parenting content in the United States.